1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to shipping containers, and more specifically to a hybrid shipping container in which the material containment portion is separated from the structural portion to optimize the performance of the shipping container while minimizing the cost and weight of the shipping container. The hybrid shipping container of the present invention is particularly suited for use in connection with the shipment and storage of bulk goods in general and fruit, such as apples, in particular.
2. General Background of the Invention
For many years, industries dealing in bulk goods, most notably the fruit industry, have been beset with problems stemming from containers that are poorly adapted for use in connection with the goods to be stored and shipped. The state of the art is currently defined by wooden crates. While generally not expensive, an important consideration in certain segments of the fruit industry such as apples where the fruit may be stored for as much as 10-12 months meaning a large number of container are needed, the very nature of wooden crates causes loss. For example, wooden containers cannot be easily cleaned. Wooden containers also cannot be provided with a sufficient surface area of air vents to allow the optimal amount of air circulation around perishable bulk goods such as apples without compromising the structure of the crate. In addition, wooden crates are assembled using hardware, such as nails and screws, that is present in the interior of the container and can damage bulk goods, such as fruit, stored therein. Finally, wooden crates are prone to splintering and have exposed hardware that can injure workers as they are loading the container.
Wooden containers are also prone to stacking issues since they cannot interlock. This leads to significant risk of harm to both the goods contained in such wooden crates and to workers since stacks of wooden crates are prone to toppling when bumped by a fork truck or similar pieces of equipment or when not properly aligned during stacking.
Wholly plastic containers have been developed for bulk goods applications, but such containers have not been well received in industry, and specifically in the fruit industry, because of the premium in cost versus a wood container and the much greater weight of wholly plastic containers. These cost and weight differentials result in large part from the fact that it takes a much greater weight of plastic to provide the rigidity and strength inherent in wood and similar materials. Another issue is the cost of shipping empty plastic containers, which do not nest since they must be stackable when filled, where wood crates can be broken down and assembled where needed. Thus, for an apple producer, the cost of enough such containers to hold 10-12 months of inventory is prohibitive, and the weight of such containers can also lead to floor loading issues, reducing the amount of goods that can be stored on a per square foot basis.
Thus, what is needed is a hybrid container design that provides a well-ventilated, hardware and splinter free storage compartment that can easily be cleaned. At the same time, the hybrid container must provide a sufficiently rigid structure that can withstand one or more tiers of stacking while providing an interlocking feature that ensures the containers are properly aligned when stacked and having a weight that is comparable to or less than a wooden crate.